Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535796
7 6 P E R S P E C T I V E M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 5 hours paging through books on film, photography and art. With most shows I have designed, I end up having one or two "hero" reference books that inspire me. For this season, I came across photographer Anthony Hernandez's book called Rodeo Drive. His candid photographs of people on the streets on and around Rodeo Drive were a great source for the design, color blocking, and even the classic cliche yellow and white awnings that hung over the Georgio storefront windows. Other references were old Los Angeles magazines, which inspired some of the graphics, and layouts and even some of my old vinyl album covers of artists like Devo (red), The Human League (blue) and Toni Basil (white), which all helped inform the color and tone of the show. Builds When first approaching the design and build of the Menendez home, we looked at a lot of photographs of the crime scene so that we could recreate the sets as historically accurate as possible. Series' researchers Whitney Donaldson and Morgan Underwood sourced the crime scene photos taken the night of the murder. Most of the images were focused in one room and in one direction, the TV/game room where Jose and Kitty Menendez were murdered. Senior Set Designer Kristen Davis and I worked very closely in translating dimensions and proportions from fuzzy old black-and-white photographs to construction plans. In the first couple of days of prep, we went back-and-forth from the blurry images on the computer screen to a simple tape measure against the wall for tangible visual reference. Then back to the images, then back to the tape measure, and so forth. As rudimentary as it sounds, it's how we worked to scale and layout the spaces we were recreating in order to make it as authentic as possible. From the oversized built-in bookcase that anchored the back wall to the vaulted beam ceiling and even to the small distance from the open French doors to the back of the sofa. All these little details needed to be A. BLUE: BEVERLY HILLS POLICE STATION. LOCATION BUILD AT ALLIED STUDIOS. PRODUCTION STILL. B. BLUE: MENENDEZ CELLBLOCK. SET BUILD SUNSET GOWER STAGES. PRODUCTION STILL. C. RED: LIVE ENTERTAINMENT OFFICES. DRESSED SET ON LOCATION. PRODUCTION STILL. D. RED: ELM DRIVE MASTER BEDROOM. BUILT SET, SUNSET GOWER STAGES. SET PHOTO. E. WHITE: NEW JERSEY LIVING ROOM. LOCATION BUILD. PRODUCTION STILL F. WHITE: ELM DRIVE LIVING ROOM. BUILT SET, SUNSET GOWER STAGES.SET PHOTO. PRODUCTION STILLS COURTESY OF NETFLIX. E D C A B F